I remember the time Korva and I were sitting on a hilltop in the east of Prontera, watching the clouds. He had said a lot of things that day that I'll never forget, but the one that will forever haunt me was the last one he said. He probably never thought much about it, either, but I've been thinking on it a lot lately, and it's been bothering me like nothing else:

All heal and no fight makes Raoul a dull Acolyte.

A few things he said were full of bad puns, while others were philosophical and meaningful. Korva was the only one I knew that could pull off comparing bandages and life and have it make sense.

I've met a lot of other people that have reminded me of Korva, but Chrow still stands in the lead. His kindness despite his setbacks will never cease to amaze me. Ashana comes close as well, followed by Lunarfade, an acolyte I've met only recently. Lunarfade and I both had the same goal as Acolytes: to be monks. He's still behind me, but he's catching up.

Those thoughts aside, I ought to return back to what I'm supposed to be narrating: my story.

The next time I saw Lilliandrei, he had changed more than I'd expected he would have. After we'd returned to Prontera he told me he was going to cut his hair so he could see out of his good eye. He had cut his hair, but also dyed it red, and he now wore bright green.

Something wasn't right about his behavior, either. No matter what I'd say, he usually responded in the shortest way possible, and he always seemed so nervous and upset. I figured it had something to do with the mention of my engagement.

"Oh, hey, Lilliandrei! You won't believe this!"

"What is it?"

"I'm getting married."

"…Oh. Who's the lucky bride?"

"I can't tell you."

"I have some news as well. I'm not going to be an assassin anymore."

"What?"

"I'm gonna be a Rogue. Will you like me more that way?"

"I'm getting married, Lil."

"…Oh, yeah…"

"Does this mean you'll stop stalking me?"

"…No."

I had to hand it to him: he was one persistent guy. And yet, he didn't seem that way anymore. Maybe it was his hunched stance, his upset and hopeless expression, his lack of intelligible responses. He was…distant.

There was only one person I knew who could act that way, and that was Saku. Whenever I'd mention Korva or Ethros in passing, he'd get this upset look on his face and say nothing. He'd pull back on the reigns of his PecoPeco and just stare off into space, sitting there…

Despite Saku's and my own class advancement, very little changed in the group other than Lilliandrei's withdrawal. We still ran around, committing the same crimes and doing the same good deeds as we always had. Until one day in the campsite, when Lil revealed a little more than I would have liked to know about my late compatriots.

"Yeah, the assassin guild tricked me too. Just like the Church screwed you over pretty bad, Raoul. But with this, they made me…kill other people.

"I was going to the Pyramid of Morroc to gain my job title of thief, and two assassins approached me. They told me the only way I could prove myself was to murder two "menacing characters" and do away with them without evidence."

At this point I was shocked, to say the least. Was he referring to Korva and Ethros? If he was, then nothing good…had he…had he killed my two friends?

"I tricked the two adventurers into going into the Sphinx with me. As soon as we were attacked by powerful monsters I grabbed their weapons and ran, hurrying for the exit, not turning back to watch as they screamed in horror, bones breaking and blood splattering on the walls…

"I returned to the assassin guild to see if my performance had gone over well. The two from earlier just laughed and said that they were meaning to do away with Korva and Ethros themselves but decided they didn't want to have to get their clothes dirtied…so they made me do it. I was infuriated, of course. After that I decided to retreat to Prontera and live out my life as a rogue thief, joining the parties I needed to to become a fine assassin, better than those two fools that were man enough to trick me.

"But now I changed my mind. I'm gonna be a Rogue, and a good one at that."

He had said it all so carelessly, as if he didn't think it some kind of terrible act of injustice that he had murdered my two friends, albeit indirectly. I remained silent for the rest of that night, and Saku said very little. We hoped Lil would notice our behaviour and apologize for his insolence, but he never did. Yeah, that's thieves for you…

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The beds at the inn were softer than I'd expected.

I'd opted to share a room with Saku, since I most certainly didn't want to share one with Lilliandrei. God knows what he'd do. Anyway, since we only had enough zeny for two rooms, Saku decided he'd sleep on his PecoPeco, and considering we were in Alberta, they didn't mind us having pets.

But I digress. I'd woken up feeling incredibly good, but Lilliandrei was quite the opposite. I heard someone crying from the other room, and I figured he was still upset about something, so I crept into his room to visit him. Hopefully Saku wouldn't wake up anytime soon and get suspicious.

As soon as I got in there Lil spoke to me. His voice was crackly and he spoke between sobs, but I could make it out clearly, "I hate you. I hate you so much…"

"Why?" I took a few steps closer until I was right by his side, and I bent over to get a better look at him. Naturally he turned away, his short red hair obscuring most of his face. I could, definitely, see tears, but that was it. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be such a jerk before. I'm really, really sorry…is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"

He said nothing.

"I…" I was going to try something a bit risky, but I knew it would cheer him up somehow. Even if it was a lie, it was a white lie, and it would help him get over his depression. "I don't know how to say this, but…ahh, Hell. I guess actions speak louder than words."

He looked up to me quizzically, his wide eyes reddened, but his sobbing had subsided for the most part. I sighed and leaned over so our faces were inches apart, and then I did it. I kissed Lilliandrei.

It calmed him down, but rather than staring at me in disbelief and flooding me with questions as I'd expected, he returned the kiss. He was a lot stronger and I was forced to back up to the wall, but the kiss was soft and tender, and I could tell it had feeling behind it unlike mine.

Just as he was about to go a bit deeper (and thank the Lord he didn't) the door swung open and Saku came in. Lilliandrei hurriedly pulled away before Saku could notice anything, and I just looked as casual as possible, which was hard, considering I was blushing pretty hard. Who wouldn't be?

Saku smiled knowingly, but I sure as heck hoped he didn't think what I thought he did. This would take some explaining anyway, but I wasn't exactly in the mood. "Time for us to go." He slowly stepped out of the room, and I looked at Lil. He gave me a brief hug (much to my embarrassment) and followed Saku out the door.

Without much thought, I followed them.